Twirling batons heretofore have been largely limited to use by those who have gained the necessary experience and skill to twirl the baton by manipulating the fingers. This required seemingly endless practice, during which the baton might slip from the fingers and strike an adjacent person also in a marching unit, for example.
The baton of the present invention is of the toy category, or at least for use by the younger students who are just beginning to experience the thrill and activity associated with athletic contests, etc.
Many twirling batons have been patented heretofore and reference is here made to U.S. Pat. No. 2,988,949 of June 20, 1961, and to U.S. Pat. No. 3,636,811 of Jan. 25, 1972, as illustrating the type of twirling baton to which our invention relates. There are instances where experienced baton twirlers may be in marching units which come to a sudden halt, at which time it may be difficult to suddenly bring the twirling baton to a halt.
It is therefore, an object of our invention to provide a brake associated with the handle of the baton whereby to quickly stop the rotation of the baton when desired.